'82 1100G mods, best bang for the buck?

[Guest]

I have an '82 GS1100GK tourer that I have been bringing back to reliable life. I am curious if there are any easy mods for this 8 valve motor that make a good bang for not too many dollars. Got any good advice, in addition to putting the bike & me on a diet?

[Nessism]

Best bang for your buck is keep the bike stock. Do all the maintenance including valve adjust, carb rebuilding w/new O-rings, reseal the airbox, new intake boot O-rings (or new boots also), etc. Check my signature for some reference material on how to maintain your bike. If you want to mod something I'd get stainless lines for the brakes, new fork springs (Progressive or Sonic), new shocks, new tires, and so forth. More maintenance type mods in truth, other than the fork springs.

Good luck

[Johno]

The best return on any dollars invested will be from maintenance and then brakes and suspension. As Nessism said, do all the maintenance first - you will get a smother sweeter and more powerfull motor when everything is sealed properly and the valves are in spec.

Don't underestimate the need the need to have the valves properly adjusted.

Bearings are now 30 years old and cheap to replace.

Check steering head, swing arm and wheel bearings for another thirty years of reliability.

Strip and rebuild the brakes with OEM seals if necessary and replace the original rubber lines with stainless.

Fork springs and rear shocks if your budget allows.

If your stock 1100 motor doesn't have enough power for you then, sell it and get a modern bike.

[TeamDar]

I am curious if there are any easy mods for this 8 valve motor that make a good bang for not too many dollars.

Since you are asking about cheap horsepower and not how to maintain your motorcycle, this is what I would do. Put a set of Dyna coils and wires on it and degree the stock camshafts to 105 lobe centers on both sides. The exhaust cams are usually pretty close to this but the intakes are always retarded at least 10 degrees from it. If timing the cams is more than you want to do then try the coils. I have never heard of anyone installing the coils and not being able to tell the difference. Dar

[Steve]

I would also suggest checking the color of your splines in the rear wheel.

"Color?"

Yeah, color. The '79 through '81, possibly into the early '82 shafties had a black spline set, which was good. Some time during the '82 model year, and into '83, they switched to a gold-colored spline that was very soft. Some time during the '83 run and to this day, they have gone to silver-colored splines, which also work quite well.

Not a whole lot of "bang for your buck", but it WILL help ensure that you get home.

.

[LarryJ]

Am working through all the maintance items. Doing coils, wires & degreeing cams good advice. Do have a "black" spline, thank heavens. Thanks guys!